Thanksgiving Turkey Roasting Tips from Our Test Kitchen

JOANNE BARRICK: "Does cutting up your turkey to roast it really shorten time? Does it taste same?" ALC: Yes, it shortens the time a lot. Also, since white meat is usually cooked before the dark meat, you can pull it out of the oven when it's perfectly done (160 degrees F) and let the legs keep cooking to 165 degrees F. The presentation isn't as dramatic, but the taste is great!

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Most of the Thanksgiving dinner bloopers we hear about involve the turkey. It was overcooked. It was raw. It caught on fire. The skin was soggy. It was bland. And then it caught on fire, again. You don’t want to let your guests down with an underwhelming bird—that’s why we had our food editor, Allie Lewis Clapp,take to Facebook to answer all your turkey questions before the big day. And we’re glad you asked them. From how to use a convection oven to the best alternative way to cook your formidable fowl, she shed light on some burning questions we didn’t even know we had. Check out the slideshow to learn a thing or two about cooking a damn fine turkey.

JOANNE BARRICK: "Does cutting up your turkey to roast it really shorten time? Does it taste same?" ALC: Yes, it shortens the time a lot. Also, since white meat is usually cooked before the dark meat, you can pull it out of the oven when it's perfectly done (160 degrees F) and let the legs keep cooking to 165 degrees F. The presentation isn't as dramatic, but the taste is great!